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THE    IMPORTANCE    OF   VIRTUOUS   HABITS   IN    YOUNG   MEN. 
AND  THE  MEANS  BY  WHICH  THEY  MAY  BE  ATTAINED. 


A  DISCOURSE 


DELIVERED  IN  THE 


COLLEGE    CHAPEL 


TO   THE   GRADUATING   CLASS, 


MAY   14,    1854, 


BT 


JAMES   CARNAHAN,   D.   D., 

PRESIDEXT  OF  THE  COLLEGE  OF  NEW  JERSEY. 


Princeton,  2V^  J., 

PRINTED   BY   JOHN    T.    ROBINSON. 

1854. 


Nassau  Hall,  May  15th,  1854. 
Ret.  Dr.  Carxahax, 

Sir: 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Senior  Class,  the  follow- 
ing was  unanimously  adopted : 

Resoh-ed,  That  a  Committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  request  a  copy  of  Dr. 
Carxahax's  Baccalaureate  Address  for  publication. 
Hoping  that  you  will  comply  with  the  above  request, 
We  remain 

Respectfully  Yours, 

ALBERT  B.  DOD,  ] 

A.  A.  EDW.  TAYLOR,       I 
RICHARD  S.  CONOYER,  \  Committee. 
EDAVARD  T.  GREEN, 
THOMAS  P.  MICKELL, 


Nassau  Hall,  May  15th,  1854. 


Messrs. 


A.  B.  Don,  Edw.  Taylor,  R.  S.  Coxover,  Edw.  T.  Green  and 
T.  P.  Mickell, 

Young  Gentlemen : 

In  compliance  with  your  request 
I  submit  to  your  disposal  the  discourse  delivered  in  the  College  Chapel. 

With  my  best  wishes  for  your  welfai-e  and  that  of  the  class  which  you  re- 
present, I  am  truly  and  faithfully, 

Your  Friend, 

JAMES  CARNAHAN. 


^^I'v 


f^ 


^       jr'Mj2iair8S7626=cop.2- 


BACCALAUREATE  SERMON. 


Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?    By  taking  heed 

THERETO   ACCORDING   TO    THY   WORD. — Psolm   CXIX.   9. 

In  every  human  enterprise  it  is  important  to  begin 
well.  And  in  no  case  is  this  remark  more  appropriate 
than  in  the  journey  of  human  life.  A  wrong  step  in 
the  commencement  generally  gives  direction  to  the 
whole  future  course.  And  if  after  we  have  proceeded 
some  distance  in  the  wrong  way,  we  attempt  to  retrace 
our  steps,  the  effort  will  be  attended  with  great  difficul- 
ty, and  much  time  and  labor  will  be  lost  in  regaining  the 
right  road.  In  forming  a  plan  of  future  conduct,  two 
things  demand  the  utmost  attention  of  every  young 
man.  First,  the  object  at  which  he  should  aim,  and 
next,  the  means  necessary  to  secure  it.  In  our  text 
the  Psalmist  suggests  an  object  worthy  the  attention 
of  every  individual,  and  especially  of  the  young,  and 
he  points  out  the  means  by  which  it  may  be  attained. 
'  Wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his  way  ?  By 
taking  heed  thereto  according  to  thy  word.'  To  cleanse 
his  way,  is  the  object.  Taking  heed  to  his  way  according 
to  the  word  of  God,  is  the  means. 

To  the  consideration  of  these  two  points,  we  at  this 
time  invite  your  attention.     To  cleanse  his  way  is  evi- 


dently  a  figurative  expression,  which  signifies  to  escape 
from  moral  pollution  and  to  attain  purity  of  heart  and 
life.  In  the  Sacred  Scriptures  it  is  usual  to  represent 
sin,  or  moral  evil  under  the  notion  of  pollution — some- 
thing which  defiles  the  soul  and  renders  it  offensive  and 
disgustful.  Sin  destroys  the  beauty  and  loveliness  of 
rational  beings,  tarnishes  the  bright  image  of  God  in 
which  man  was  created,  and  invests  the  soul  in  a  garb 
so  foul  and  loathsome  as  to  excite  the  disgust  of  all  ho- 
ly beings.  In  the  Sacred  Scriptures  sin  is  represented 
^s  an  abominable  thing  from  which  God  averts  his  eyes 
as  being  too  pure  to  behold  evil.     . 

Integrity,  purity,  holiness  and  piety,  (all  of  which 
are  included  in  the  general  expression  to  cleanse  his 
way\  are  im^Dortant  and  necessary  to  all  men  of  every 
age.  Yet  there  is  a  peculiar  propriety  in  inquiring  by 
what  means  a  young  man  may  cleanse  his  way, 

1.  Because  a  young  man  is  in  more  danger  of  con- 
tamination than  any  other.  This  danger  arises  from 
the  inexjDcrience  and  ardor  of  youth,  andfrom  the  pecu- 
liar temptations  to  which  that  age  is  exposed.  The  ex- 
tent of  his  own  observation  is  limited,  and  he  can  sel- 
dom be  persuaded  to  listen  to  the  experience  of  those 
who  have  gone  before  him.  When  the  victims  of  sen- 
suality, in  the  last  stage  of  moral  degradation,  without 
reputation  or  property  or  health,  are  presented  to  -  his 
view,  he  cannot  believe  there  is  any  similarity  between 
these  extreme  cases  and  his  own.  He  cannot  believe  that 
these  outcasts  from  society,  now  clothed  in  rags,  totter- 
ing in  the  streets,  or  emaciated  in  the  hospital,  or  con- 
fined in  the  penitentiary,  had  when  of  his  age  that  high 
sense  of  honor,  that  delicate  regard  to  the  feelings  of 
their  friends,  and  that  strength  and  decision  of  charac- 
ter which  he  possesses.     He  feels  himself  injured  and 


insulted  by  the  suggestion  that  he  may  one  day  become 
such  as  the  degraded  and  miserable  being  whose  very 
aspect  fills  him  with  disgust.  When  you  point  him  to 
such  examples,  he  looks  around  him  and  beholds 
some  who  have  advanced  farther  in  a  course  of  dissipa- 
tion than  he  at  present  intends  to  go,  enjoying  a  high 
degree  of  health,  respected  by  their  friends,  admitted 
to  reputable  and  fashionable  society,  occuj)ying  honor- 
able stations,  apparently  free  from  care  and  imparting 
cheerfulness  and  joy  to  all  their  associates.  And  why 
he  asks,  may  not  he  walk  in  the  same  path,  so  smooth,- 
so  enchanting,  so  well  adapted  to  his  buoyant  feelings, 
especially  as  he  is  determined  to  avoid  everything  mean 
and  disreputable,  and  to  associate  only  with  intelligent 
and  genteel  companions.  And  if  on  some  special  occa- 
sions he  should  go  beyond  the  limits  which  rigid  moral- 
ists would  approve,  he  alleges  it  is  nothing  more  than 
others  have  done  who  still  maintain  a  decent  and  res- 
pectable standing  in  society.  With  these  views,  and  en- 
couraged by  these  examples  he  is  induced  to  go  farther 
until  it  is  too  late  to  recede.  Thus  we  have  seen  on  a 
summer  evening  a  gay  and  beauteous  insect,  charmed 
by  the  brilliancy  of  a  lighted  taper,  sporting  around  the 
dazzling  object,  alternately  approaching  and  receding, 
coming  nearer  at  each  successive  circle,  until  touched 
by  the  flame  it  falls  to  rise  no  more. 

It  has  been  said  that  such  is  the  deformity  of  vice 
that  it  needs  only  to  be  seen  in  order  to  be  shunned. 
This  is  true  when  viewed  in  all  its  consequences  pres- 
ent and  remote.  But  it  is  not  true  when  the  aspect 
usually  presented  to  youth  is  contemplated.  It  is  then 
dressed  in  all  the  seductive  charms  of  pleasure,  of 
wealth,  of  fame.  Every  thing  calculated  to  excite  tl 
appetite  and  to  inflame  the  passions  of  youth,  is   heh 


je 


8 

out  to  view.  Fragrant  flowers  delightful  to  the  sight 
hang  in  graceful  clusters  on  each  side  of  the  winding 
path  which  leads  to  the  mansion  filled  with  dead  meris 
hones. 

There  are  also  persons  already  initiated  into  the  mys- 
teries of  iniquity,  prepared  to  meet  young  men,  when 
they  go  forth  into  the  world,  and  to  lead  them  into  the 
paths  of  corruption  and  crime.  Vice  like  misery  loves 
company.  Whether  this  arises  from  the  social  princi- 
ple common  to  all  men  or  from  a  consciousness  of  guilt 
which  dreads  to  be  alone,  we  shall  not  now  stop  to  in- 
quire. The  fact  is  so,  that  those  who  are  corrupt  make 
strenuous  and  successful  efforts  to'  corrupt  others.  Un- 
der the  guise  of  friendship  they  present  allurements, 
which  the  inexperienced  know  not  how  to  resist.  At 
one  time  addressing  their  appetites  and  passions,  at  an- 
other appealing  to  their  love  of  honor  and  distinction, 
representing  some  sins  as  manly  and  honorable,  and  in- 
deed as  necessary,  in  order  to  maintain  a  standing  in 
fashionable  society.  And  if  they  succeed  in  corrupting 
the  morals  of  a  youth  under  their  tuition,  the  religious 
principles  in  which  he  has  been  educated,  will  soon  give 
way  and  cease  to  place  any  barrier  in  the  road  to  ruin. 
When  his  moral  habits  have  received  an  evil  bias,  no 
foreign  influence  is  necessary  in  order  to  induce  him  to 
abandon  the  religious  principles  in  which  he  has  been 
instructed.  Under  the  high  excitement  of  his  feelings 
and  of  the  various  objects  with  which  he  is  surrounded, 
he  finds  no  leisure  for  serious  reflection.  Or,  if  in  some 
transient  moments,  the  thought  of  God  and  the  retri- 
butions of  eternity  should  disturb  his  guilty  pleasures, 
his  own  ingenuity  will  find  pretexts  to  justify  his  con- 
duct and  to  calm  his  fears. 

From  long  observation,  we  are  persuaded  that  the 


rejection  of  the  gospel  generally  begins  with  the  corrup- 
tion of  the  heart,  and  the  loss  of  virtuous  habits.  We 
repeat  it,  men  usually  become  infidels  or  what  is  the 
same  thing,  adopt  erroneous  principles,  in  order  to  suit 
the  corrupt  habits,  which  they  have  formed.  In  some 
cases,  it  is  true,  a  contrary  process  takes  place.  The 
reading  of  infidel  or  erroneous  books,  or  the  conversa- 
tion of  irreligious  and  licentious  companions,  suggest 
doubts,  respecting  the  great  truths  inculcated  in  the 
Bible.  And  when  the  principles  of  piety  are  obscured 
by  the  mists  of  scepticism,  the  only  effectual  restraint 
to  the  indulgence  of  licentious  and  malignant  passions 
is  removed. 

Young  men  of  literary  taste  are  peculiarly  exposed 
to  the  poison  conveyed  through  the  press.  Scepticism 
and  licentiousness  are  interwoven  with  almost  every 
species  of  literature.  It  is  found  in  the  most  polished 
histories  in  the  English  langua.ge,  in  philosophical  disqui- 
sitions, in  natural  history,  in  poetry  and  fiction. 

A  young  man  must  abandon  all  thought  of  mental 
improvement,  if  he  be  not  in  the  course  of  his  reading 
exposed  to  the  deadliest  poison,  presented  in  the  most 
insinuating  and  dangerous  form.  Indeed,  sources  of 
moral  contamination  accessible  to  all  classes  of  the 
community,  have  been  opened.  Infidelity  and  licen- 
tiousness in  a  form  calculated  to  reach  the  most  igno- 
rant and  stupid,  are  presented  to  every  age  and  sex,  in 
public  lectures,  in  weekly  papers,  in  essays  and  tracts. 
To  this  contaminating  influence,  young  men  are  more 
exposed  than  any  other  class,  and  they  are  more  likely 
to  feel  the  blighting  effects,  because  tlie  principles  in- 
culcated with  so  much  zeal  arc  calculated  to  inflame 
those  passions  which  the  best  regulated  discipline  can 
hardly  restrain.     An  aj^peal  which  few  have  firmness 


10 

enough  to  resist,  is  also  made  to  their  vanity.  They 
are  told  it  is  mean  and  unworthy  a  liberal  mind  to  re- 
ceive the  dogmas  inculcated  by  parents,  and  to  submit 
to  the  restraints  imposed  by  the  precepts  of  the  gospel : 
that  the  time  has  come  when  they  should  cast  off  the 
leading  strings  of  the  nursery,  and  walk  forth  with  an  in- 
dependent and  unshackled  step.  To  the  youthful  heart 
such  suggestions  are  extremely  gratifying :  and  many 
flattered  with  the  idea  of  independence,  resign  them- 
selves to  the  guidance  of  their  new  instructers,  and  be- 
come the  dupes  of  the  wildest  follies,  and  the  slaves  of 
the  most  degrading  passions. 

2.  Again  the  inquiry,  wherewithal  shall  a  young- 
man  cleanse  his  way,  is  made  with  peculiar  propriety ; 
because  habits  acquired  in  early  life,  usually  become 
fixed,  and  are  scarcely  cajDable  of  being  changed  at  any 
future  period. 

No  fact  is  more  indubitable,  none  more  confirmed  by 
the  experience  of  every  individual,  and  by  the  testimo- 
ny of  all  ages,  than  that  now  stated.  Yet  this  is  a 
truth  in  the  philosophy  of  human  nature,  which  young 
men  are  slow  to  learn.  Few  young  men,  we  believe, 
deliberately  determine  to  abandon  themselves  to  a  life 
of  idleness  and  dissipation,  and  consequently  of  insig- 
nificance and  wretchedness.  Their  intention  is,  after 
a  short  period  of  self  indulgence,  to  change  their  course. 
And  if  one  individual  in  a  thousand  can  be  recollected 
who  abandoning  the  follies  of  youth,  has  risen  to  dis- 
tinction in  life,  it  is  sufficient  to  encourage  others  to 
make  the  experiment.  Examples  of  this  kind  are  treas- 
ured up  in  the  memory  and  handed  down  from  genera- 
tion to  generation,  while  the  cases  of  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands of  others  who  have  ignobly  perished,  are  totally  for- 
gotten.    Thus  a  single  prize  in  a  lottery  is  told  and  trum- 


11 

peted  throughout  the  land,  and  not  one  syllable  is  uttered 
respectmg  ten  thousand  blanks  in  the  same  drawing. 
The  capital  prize  in  the  next  lottery  attracts  the  notice 
of  numerous  adventurers,  each  one  hoping  to  be  the  fa- 
vorite of  fortune.  But  suppose  the  anticipations  of  the 
youthful  adventurer  should  be  realized,  what  does  he 
gain  ?  A  few  days  of  sordid  gratification,  and  years  of 
regret  that  his  best  days  have  been  uselessly  and  crimi- 
nally wasted, — that  he  must  carry  with  him  through 
life  a  broken  constitution  and  have  a  continual  struggle 
to  resist  the  return  of  habits  formed  in  early  life.  Be  it 
remembered  that  in  a  vast  majority  of  cases,  reforma- 
tion never  takes  place.  A  fire  has  been  kindled  which 
all  the  art  of  man  cannot  extinguish.  It  burns  within, 
and  at  each  successive  hour  acquires  fresh  vigor. 

3.  Another  consideration  which  gives  intense  interest 
to  the  inquiry,  by  what  means  a  young  man  may  cleanse 
his  way,  is  the  large  number  of  youth  lost  to  their 
friends,  their  country  and  the  world  in  consequence  of 
the  corruption  of  their  morals  at  an  early  period  of  life. 
We  cannot  form  an  accurate  estimate  of  the  number, 
who  from  this  cause  die  in  early  life,  or  become  utterly 
useless  to  society.  Some  attempts  have  been  made  to 
ascertain  the  number  who  die  annually  in  the  United 
States,  by  the  single  vice  of  intemperance.  And  the 
amount  on  the  most  moderate  calculation  is  truly  ap- 
palling. Add  to  this  the  victims  of  other  sins,  of  lewd- 
ness, of  gambling,  of  duelling,  and  how  vast  must  be  the 
amount  ?  Of  this  fact,  any  one  can  convince  himself, 
if  he  will  take  a  single  village  or  neighborhood,  and 
count  up  all  who  from  these  causes  have  gone  to  a  pre- 
mature grave.  Or  let  him  look  around  the  circle  of  his 
acquaintance  and  note  those  who  have  gone,  or  who  are 
in  the  road  to  ruin,  through  the  indulgence  of  criminal 


12 

passions.  And  let  it  be  kept  in  mind,  that  through  the 
delicacy  of  friends  many  pine  and  sicken  and  die,  in  con- 
sequence of  sins  unknown  to  the  world.  Take  only 
those  cases  where  the  cause  is  obvious,  and  how  much 
talent,  how  much  intellectual  acquirement,  and  how 
much  promise  of  usefulness  and  distinction,  are  blighted 
and  lost  through  the  corruption  of  morals  in  early  life  ! 
In  what  city  or  village,  or  neighborhood,  do  we  not  see 
parents  mourning  over  a  lost  son  ? 

If  all  the  young  men  who  have  perished  during  the 
last  ten  years,  or  all  who  shall  probably  fall  in  the  next 
ten  years  to  come,  from  this  cause^,  were  cut  off  in  one 
day^  what  lamentation  and  mourning  would  be  heard 
throughout  our  land  ?  Egypt  on  that  memorable  night 
when  the  first  born  in  every  house  was  smitten,  did  not 
present  a  spectacle  more  appalling.  In  the  wise  and 
benevolent  order  of  Providence,  all  do  not  fall  at 
once,  so  that  the  youth  in  each  neighborhood  may  have 
before  their  eyes  every  year  and  month,  a  beacon  to 
warn  them  of  danger.  And  what  is  to  be  more  regret- 
ted, these  victims  are  not  always  the  ignorant,  the  mean 
and  worthless  :  young  men  of  education,  of  talent,  of 
respectable  connexions,  to  whose  future  eminence  their 
friends  and  country  were  looking  forward  with  fond  an- 
ticipations are  among  those  whom  the  destroying  angel 
has  marked  as  his  victims. 

4.  I'he  good  which  a  man,  who  in  early  life  adopts 
correct  principles  and  forms  virtuous  habits  may  achieve, 
and  the  mischief  which  he  will  probably  accomplish  if 
he  take  a  contrary  course,  make  it  highly  desirable  that 
young  men  should  be  correct  in  their  principles,  and 
pure  in  their  morals. 

Every  individual  however  low  in  station,  or  inferior 
in  talent,  has  an  influence  on  the  happiness  or  misery 


13 

of  those  around  him.  As  a  father,  a  son,  a  husband, 
he  holds  m  his  hands  the  domestic  peace,  and  in  many 
cases  the  eternal  destiny  of  the  domestic  circle. 

Not  unfrequently  the  moral  influence  of  an  individu- 
al whether  good  or  bad,  extends  to  a  much  wider  sphere. 
'  One  sinner  destroys  much  good.'  By  his  conversation 
and  example  he  corrupts  others,  and  they  again  become 
centres  from  which  moral  pollution  emanates.  And 
thus  the  contagion  is  spread  from  neighborhood  to  neigh- 
borhood, and  conveyed  from  generation  to  generation. 
It  is  also  an  encouraging  circumstance  that  an  individ- 
ual, especially  if  he  commences  in  early  life,  may  effect 
much  good.  The  history  of  the  church  and  of  the  world, 
demonstrates  that  the  moral  and  religious  reformation 
of  nations  as  well  as  of  individuals,  is  effected  through 
the  instrumentality  of  human  agents.  Not  only  distin- 
guished men,  whom  God  has  raised  up,  in  great  emer- 
gencies, but  each  individual  in  whatever  sphere  he  may 
be  placed,  is  capable  of  contributing  immense  and  in- 
calculable aid  to  the  cause  of  virtue  and  piety.  And 
to  what  better  cause  can  a  young  man  consecrate  his 
talents  and  influence  ? 

5.  Finally,  purity  and  holiness  is  the  only  qualifica- 
tion which  can  elevate  the  soul  to  its  true  dignity,  and 
prepare  it  for  heaven.  '  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart, 
for  they  shall  see  God.'  ^And  without  holiness  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord.'  On  this  account  it  is  important 
and  necessary  that  the  young  as  well  as  the  old  should 
cleanse  his  way!  And  if  it  be  true,  as  we  think  expe- 
rience sufficiently  demonstrates,  that  comparatively  few 
become  pure  in  heart,  i.  e.  sincerely  pious,  after  they 
have  passed  the  meridian  of  life,  how  important  is  the 
inquiry,  '  wherewithal  shall  a  young  man  cleanse  his 
way  ?' 


14 

Of  this  short  life,  youth  is  the  seed  time  for  eternity. 
And  if  this  season  p^ass  unimproved,  the  probability  of 
a  joyful  harvest  is  greatly  diminished.  .Every  young- 
man  ought  to  bear  in  mind  this  solemn  fact,  when  he 
is  laying  plans  to  spend  the  morning  of  life  in  sinful 
folly,  and  to  attend  to  the  concerns  of  hi^  soul  in  old 
age.  God  may  leave  him  as  he  has  others,  to  reap  th^ 
fruits  of  his  own  criminal  folly. 

Such  are  a  few  of  the  dangers  to  which  young  men 
are  exposed,  and  such  the  importance  of  avoiding  vi-" 
cious  habits. 

II.  It  remains  that  we  consider  very  briefly  by 
what  means  a  young  man  may  escape  the  pit  into  - 
which  so  many  have  fallen.  The  Psalmist  in  our 
text  has  pointed  out  the  only  certain  and  effectual  means 
by  which  a  young  man  may  cleanse  his  way,  vi-z  :  by 
taking  heed  thereto  according  to  the  word  of  God. 
That  is  by  attention,  and  attention  according  to  a  cer- 
tain rule — the  word  of  God. 

If  one  or  the  other,  or  both  of  these  be  neglected,  the 
end  will  certainly  fail  to  be  attained.  A  man  who 
treads  a  narrow  path  surrounded  with  deep  precipices, 
will  be  in  great  danger  unless  he  takes  h6ed  to  his  steps. 
He  may  have  received  the  most  accurate  and  explicit 
instructions  respecting  the  road — he  may  have  in  his 
pocket  a  map  or  chart  representing  the  track  he  is  to 
follow — marking  the  paths  likely  to  lead  him  astray, 
and  the  precipices  over  which  preceding  travellers^  hkve 
fallen,  and  yet  if  he  forget  his  instructions  and  neglect: 
to  consult  his  chart,  he  cannot  hope  to  reach  in  "Safety 
his  desired  destination ;  nor  can  the  best  moral  ^and 
religious  instructions,  avail  a  young  man,  who  dasKr 
es  on  heedless  of  consequences,  not  regarding  all  he^ 
has  heard   or   read  respecting  the  d'angers  that  sur-^ 


15 

'  round  his  path  ?  As  a  moral  agent  every  individual 
must  think  and  meditate,  and  compare  the  different  ob- 
jects placed  before  ^him,  so  that  in  view  of  their  relative 
importance,  he  may  decide  which  he  ought  to  choose 
and  which  to  reject.  Young  men  are  extremely  jealous 
of  their  independence,  afraid  to  have  it  suspected  that 
tliey  are  swayed  by  any  foreign  authority,  or  governed 
by  any  will  except  their  own.  If  then  they  would  act 
wisely  they  must  think,  what  is  the  nature  and  what 
the  tendency  of  their  actions.  If  they  do  otherwise, 
they  in  fac1>  renounce  that  independence,  which  they 
affect  to  idolize,  and  yield  themselves  to  the  impulse  of 
every  surrounding  object.  Submission  to  the  authori- 
ty of  the  Bible  is  often  refused  on  the  ground,  that  it 
it  would  take  from  a  man  the  liberty  of  thinking  and 
acting  for  himself.  The  truth  is,  there  is  no  duty  which 
the  Bible  more  frequently  and  solemnly  enjoins,  than 
that  a  man  should  think  and  act  according  to  his  own 
conscience  well  enlightened.  And  there  is  no  sin  more 
severely  ^condemned  than  the  want  of  consideration. 
The  want  of  consideration  ruins  the  temporal  and  eter- 
nal interests  of  a  large  number  of  mankind.  When 
men  are  involved  in  difficulties  in  consequence  of  their 
sins,  they  more  severely  blame  themselves  for  the  want 
of  consideration,  than  for  any  thing  else,  ascribing  their 
calamities  to  their  own  rashness,  folly  and  want  of 
thought. 

^  It  will  readily  h^  admitted  that  no  one  can  succeed 
in  an  important  worldly  enterprise,  unless  he  wisely 
arrange  his  plans,  and  attentively  use  means  necessary 
to  their  execution.  And  can  any  one  without  vigilance 
and  precaution  hope  to  escape  the  snares  and  tempta- 
tions that  surround  his  path  ? 

The  want  of  reflection  is  the  common  and  besetting 


16 

sin  of  young  men.     They  sometimes  imagine  that  this 
heedlessness  is  laudable  and  becoming  their  age.     Not 
conscious  of  any  positive  intention  to  do  wrong,   they 
excuse    themselves  for  acts  admitted  to   be  criminal, 
when  done  after  deliberation  and  forethought.     But  if 
God  has  endowed  man  with  the  power  of  reason  and 
choice,  made  him  capable  of  distinguishing  right  from 
wrong,  and  of  perceiving  the  connexion  between  cause 
and  effect,  can  it  be  no  crime  to  neglect  to  exercise  the 
noblest  attribute  of  human  nature,   and   to  follow  the 
guidance  of  blind  impulses,  possessed  by  brutes  in  a  su- 
perior degree  ?     In  what  strong  and  pathetic  language 
does  God  remonstrate  with  men  on  account  of  this  heed- 
lessness and  want  of  consideration  ?     'The   ox   know- 
eth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib  :  But  Israel 
doth  not  know;  my  people  do  not  consider.'    Is.   i,  3. 
'  Oh  that  they  were  wise,   that  they   understood  this, 
that  they  would  consider  their  latter  end.'  Deut.  xxxii. 
29.     Attention  then  is  indispensably  necessary.     There 
is  no  royal  high  road  by  which  either  young  or  old  can 
escape  the  pollutions  of  the  world,  and  get  to  heaven 
without  their  own  care  and  reflection. 

2.  But  if  a  young  man  is  anxious  to  cleanse  his  way, 
by  what  light  shall  he  direct  his  steps  ?  What  guide 
shall  he  follow  amidst  the  dangers  that  surround  his  path  ? 
There  is  only  one  infallible  guide, — one  steady  and  bril- 
liant light,  which  never  leads  astray  the  weary  travel- 
ler. I  mean,  the  word  of  God,  contained  in  the  Holy 
Scriptures — '  the  only  infallible  rule  of  faith  and  prac- 
tice.' "  The  law  of  the  Lord  is  perfect  converting  the 
soul :  the  testimony  of  the  Lord  is  sure  making  wise 
the  simple.  The  statutes  of  the  Lord  are  right,  rejoicing 
the  heart.  The  commandment  of  the  Lord  is  pure,  en- 
lightening the  eyes.     The  fear  of  the  Lord  is  clean,  en- 


17 

daring  forever.  The  judgments  of  the  Lord  are  true, 
and  rio;hteous  altoo:ether.  More  to  be  desired  than 
gold ;  yea  than  much  fine  gold ;  sweeter  also  than  honey 
and  the  honey  comb.  Moreover  by  them  is  thy  servant 
warned  ;  and  in  keeping  of  them  there  is  great  reward." 
This  eulogy  is  as  true  as  it  is  elegant.  And  whoever 
will  make  the  experiment, — ^lay  it  down  as  a  first  princi- 
ple, to  take  the  word  of  God  as  the  rule  of  his  conduct, 
— endeavor  to  imbibe  its  spirit,  to  obey  its  precepts,  to 
cherish  its  hopes, — will  find  from  his  own  experience 
that  the  encomium  is  not  exaggerated. 

Where  else  can  we  find  a  perfect  standard  of  duty  ? 
Where  else  an  ^nchanging  light  to  shine  on  our  path  ? 
Every  other  standard  will  be  found  defective.  Every 
other  lighi  fallacious.  Can  a  young  man  follow  with 
safety  his  own  reason  independent  of  divine  revelation  ? 
It  is  true,  experience  and  reflection  may  induce  a  man 
to  exchange  one  sin  for  another.  Profligacy  may  give 
place  to  avarice  or  ambition.  The  penuriousness  of  old 
age  may  succeed  the  prodigality  of  youth.  But  in 
these  changes  there  is  no  approximation  to  real  purity 
or  moral  rectitude. 

Again,  will  conscience  unenlightened  by  the  word  of 
God  restrain  the  passions,  and  guide  the  footsteps  of 
impetuous  youth  ?  Conscience  derives  the  acuteness 
of  its  perceptions  and  the  energy  of  its  decisions  from 
the  truths  of  the  Bible. 

It  is  true  there  is  a  foundation  laid  in  the  human 
constitution  to  distinguish  right  from  wrong.  There  is 
a  mirror  in  the  human  breast,  w^hich  shows  to  a  man 
his  own  deformity,  when  the  light  of  divine  truth  is 
brought  to  bear  upon  it.  liet  we  know  from  experi- 
ence that  conscience  may  be  so  perverted,  as  to  call 

good  evil,   and  evil  good.     And  even  when   duty  is 

3 


18 

known,  and  acknowledged,  this  inward  monitor,  not 
strengthened  by  the  truths  revealed  in  the  Bible,  re- 
monstrates in  a  voice  so  feeble  as  not  to  be  heard  amidst 
the  din  of  passion,  and  the  tumults  of  life.  But  let  the 
light  of  heaven  shine  on  the  conscience,  let  the  sinner 
be  brought  under  the  inspection  of  a  holy  God,  whose 
omniscient  eye  attends  him  in  the  darkness  of  midnight, 
as  w^ell  as  in  the  light  of  noonday,  let  the  retributions 
of  eternity  be  placed  in  his  view,  and  then  conscience 
will  speak  in  a  voice  not  easily  disregarded. 

Once  more,  does  a  young  man  depend  on  the  regard 
he  has  to  his  own  reputation  or  m  other  words,  on  the 
approbation  and  disapprobation   of  his  fellow  men  to 
restrain  him  from  every  thing  base  and  grossly  immor- 
al in  his  conduct  ?     Is  he   acutely   sensitive  to  whatev- 
er affects  his  reputation,  and  does  he  instinctively  shrink 
from  whatever  would  sully  his  fair  name  ?     And  does 
he  believe  that  this  consideration  w^ill  keep   him  far 
from  the  commission  of  every  foul  deed,  and  lead  him 
to   cultivate   those  amiable  dispositions   and   pleasing 
manners,    which    conciliate   the    respect   and   love  of 
mankind  ?     Now  wdio  does  not  see  that  this   standard 
of  moral   conduct  must  vary  with  the   sentiments  of 
those  w  ith  wdiom  an  individual  associates  ?    If  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  moves  be  pure  and  virtuous,  the  per- 
son whose  standard  of  duty  is  the  opinion   of  others, 
will  at  least  in  appearance,  be  pure   and  virtuous.     If 
he  be  surrounded  W'4i  those  of  a   contrary  character, 
he  must  according  to  his   own  principles,   adopt  their 
sentiments  and  imitate  their  conduct.     Having  no  fixed 
and  independent  principles  of  his  ow^n,   he   imbibes  his 
opinions  and  shapes  his  course  according  to  the  circum- 
stances in  which  he  may  be  placed.     And  is  he  not  as 
likely  in  the  journey  of  life  to  pass  through  a  foul^  as  a 


19 

23ure  region,  to  breathe  a  noxious  as  a  healthful  atmos- 
j^here  ?  We  have  ah^eady  seen  that  the  influence  of 
corrupt  companions  is  one  of  the  dangers  to  Avhicli  a 
3^oung  man  is  exposed,  and  unless  he  has  some  guide 
different  from  the  opinion  of  those  around  him,  he  will 
move  with  the  current  and  descend  into  the  gulf  in 
which  so  many  have  perished.  It  is  true,  and  we  re- 
joice in  the  fact,  that  public  sentiment  may  be  favora- 
ble to  purity  of  morals.  But  whence  is  this  sentiment 
derived  ?  AYhat  purifies  and  elevates  the  tone  of  moral 
feeling  in  any  community?  We  answer  unhesitatingly, 
the  Bible.  Where  this  is  wanting,  or  where  its  precepts 
are  not  regarded,  there  no  such  moral  sentiment  exists. 
As  far  as  sins  interfere  with  the  immediate  interests 
and  pleasures  of  others,  so  far  and  no  farther  will  these 
sins  be  condemned  and  punished.  Take,  for  example, 
the  conduct  of  those  who  carry  a  regard  to  reputation 
to  its  utmost  extent,  who  have  established  a  refined, 
though  unwritten  code  of  laws,  to  which  every  individu- 
al aspiring  to  the  character  of  a  gentleman  must  sub- 
mit. What  sins  do  these  laws  of  honor  prohibit  ?  Or 
rather  what  sins  do  they  not  tolerate  and  foster  ?  In- 
temperance, lewdness,  gaming,  impiety  and  even  lying, 
(provided  it  do  not  affect  one  of  the  honorable  fraterni- 
ty) will  not  exclude  a  man  from  the  society  of  those 
who  acknowledge  no  law  except  that  of  reputation. 
The  only  principle  regarded  as  sacred  and  inviolable,  as 
far  as  we  understand  the  subject,  ^ .  to  permit  no  impu- 
tation affecting  that  impalpable  and  undefined  some- 
thing called  honor,  to  go  unpunished,  that  is,  to  take 
revenge  for  every  real  or  imaginary  insult.  And  if  his 
character  should  be  tarnished  by  any  foul  imputation 
a  gentleman  according  to  this  code,  must  wash  himself 
pure  in  his  brother's  blood,  or  fall  in  the  attempt. 


20 

We  must  return  then  to  this  old  and  too  much  neg- 
lected book,  in  order  to  find  a  perfect  and  unerring 
standard  of  morals.  Here  not  one  sin,  but  all  sins  are 
forbidden — not  one  duty  but  all  duties  are  commanded. 
These  laws  reach  the  motives  as  well  as  the  actions — 
the  thoughts  as  well  as  the  words.  Here  we  find  mo- 
tives addressed  to  the  intellectual  and  moral  constitu- 
tion of  man,  suited  to  rouse  his  attention,  to  alarm  his 
fears,  to  cherish  his  hopes,  to  awaken  his  conscience 
and  to  enkindle  his  love. 

Especially  the  adorable  method  of  salvation  provided 
for  sinners,  presents  such  a  view  t>f  the  justice  and  love 
of  God  as  fills  the  mind  with  awe,  and  melts  the  heart 
in  gratitude.  The  Son  of  God  coming  from  heaven  to 
earth  to  redeem  sinners,  is  the  most  amazing  display  of 
divine  love,  that  men  or  angels  have  ever  witnessed. 
If  the  agonies  of  the  Kedeemer  voluntarily  bleeding  and 
expiring  under  the  weight  of  sin  which  he  bore  in  his 
own  body  on  the  tree,  do  not  cause  the  heart  of  the  sin- 
ner to  relent,  it  must  be  harder  than  the  rocks  rent 
asunder  on  that  awful  occasion. 

It  is  not  strange  that  when  the  apostles  would  excite 
believers  to  entire  devotedness  to  the  service  of  their 
Lord  and  Master,  they  should  remind  them  of  the  love 
of  Christ,  because  no  other  motive  goes  directly  to  the 
heart  with  such  resistless  energy.  Even  the  stupid 
Hottentot,  and  the  beastly  Greenlander  shed  tears  of 
gratitude  at  the  simple  recital  of  what  the  Son  of  God 
did  and  suffered  for  guilty  men. 

There  is  another  thought  connected  with  this  part  of 
the  subject.  When  any  one  is  desirous  to  cleanse  his 
way,  i.  e.  really  to  become  pure  and  holy  in  the  sight 
of  God,  he  must  be  conscious  that  his  soul  is  already  pol- 
luted, that  he  has  contracted  a  stain  which  all  his  tears 


21 

cannot  wash  away.  The  Bible  directs  him  to  go  to  that 
fountain  that  is  opened  for  sin  and  uncleanness,  assu- 
ring him  that  the  blood  of  Jesus  cleanseth  from  all  sin. 
Here  the  troubled  conscience  finds  peace  on  grounds 
consistent  with  divine  justice. 

The  word  of  God  begins  with  the  heart,  where  all 
real  reformation  and  purity  of  life  must  commence. 
This  holy  book  does  not  conceal  from  a  young  man  the  real 
state  of  his  heart.  It  tells  him  in  plain  and  honest  lan- 
guage that  his  heart  is  corrupt,  depraved  and  naturally 
destitute  of  purity  or  holiness  in  the  sight  of  God.  It  in- 
forms him  that  he  must  have  a  new  heart,  that  he  must 
be  born  again,  that  all  his  desires,  motives  and  princi- 
ples of  action  must  be  changed,  so  that  he  shall  love 
God  supremely,  and  have  a  regard  to  his  glory  in  all  his 
actions.  It  moreover  declares  especially,  that  this 
change  in  the  state  of  the  heart  is  effected  not  by  moral 
means,  but  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Ghost  attending 
the  presentation  of  divine  truth  to  the  heart  and  con- 
science. It  points  out  also  the  way  in  which  the  aid 
of  the  Holy  Spirit  is  secured.  '  Ask  and  it  shall  be 
given  to  you,  seek  and  ye  shall  find,  knock  and  it  shall 
be  opened  unto  3'ou.'  And  this  exhortation  is  accom- 
panied with  the  assurance  that  our  Father  in  heaven 
is  more  ready  to  give  the  Holy  Spirit  to  them  that  ask 
him,  than  earthly  parents  are  to  give  good  gifts  to  their 
children. 

Now  where  else  are  rules  so  perfect,  motives  so  pow- 
erful, means  so  well  adapted  to  the  intellectual  and  mo- 
ral constitution  of  man,  to  be  found  ?  Where  else  is 
such  provision  made  to  cancel  the  debts  due  to  divine 
justice,  or  to  cleanse,  purify,  and  prepare  the  soul  for 
heaven  ?  Here,  young  men,  you  have  an  unerring  guide 
which  if  attentively  followed  will  preserve  you  from  the 


.).) 


pollutions  of  the  world,  and  conduct  you  to  that  happy 
place  where  nothing  that  defileth  shall  ever  enter. 

Young  Gentlemex  of  the  Senior  Class, 

How  different  is  tlie  position  which  you  and  myself 
this  day  occupy  ?  Having  finished  the  usual  course  of 
Academical  study,  you  are  soon  to  leave  these  literary 
retreats  and  to  commence  the  duties  of  life. 

On  the  other    hand,  having   nearly  completed   the 
number  of  years  appointed  for  men  to  remain  on  earth 
I  am  shortly  to  withdraw  to  the  shades   of  retirement, 
and  to  wait  with   submission  and*  patience  for  the  sum- 
mons which  we  must  all  obey.     In  my  own  case  what 
has  been  done,  whether  good  or  bad  cannot  be  recalled, 
and  what  has  been  left  undone,  cannot  now  be  perform- 
ed.    The  die  is  cast,  and  there  it  must  remain  fixed,  im- 
mutable forever.     Fifty  and  four  years  ago,  I   stood  in 
the  attitude  in  which  you  now  are,  looking  forward  to 
that  uncertain  future  before  me.     Now  I  look  back  on 
what  has  actually  occurred.     Ah  !  how  different  in  ma- 
ny  respects  the  reality  from   youthful  anticipations. 
Your  work  is  still  before  you.     Mine  is  finished  and  the 
record  made.     Your   history  the  recording   angel   has 
not  yet  written.     And  what  it  shall  be,  depends  inider 
God  on  your  own  voluntary  exertions.     Your  names 
may  be  enrolled  with  those  of  the   great  and  good  of 
other  ages,  or  with  those  whose  memory  shall  perish. 
Let  me  say  to  you,  you  have  now  arrived  at  a  critical 
and  important  period  of  life.     Standing  on   the   line 
which  separates  youth  from  manhood  the  first  step  you 
take  may  give  direction  to  your  future  course,   and  de- 
cide your  future  destiny.     Be  assured  that  what  you 
shall  now  do  is  a  subject  of  deep  solicitude  to  your  pa- 
rents and  friends,  and  especially  to  those  w^ho  have  re- 


cently  directed  your  studies.  On  this  occasion  I  might 
suggest  to  you  many  thoughts  on  various  subjects  wor- 
thy to  be  remembered  in  future  life  But  I  will  not 
divide  your  attention.  The  single  thought  which  I 
desire  you  to  remember  as  my  last  counsel,  is,  that  to  be 
good  men  is  more  important  than  anything  else.  On 
this  depends  your  own  comfort  in  life,  and  in  death, 
and  as  far  as  your  influence  extends,  the  interests  of  your 
country,  and  the  everlasting  destiny  of  those  with  whom 
you  may  be  connected.  A  very  fatal,  and,  as  we  be- 
lieve, a  very  connnon  error  with  young  men,  is  to  think 
moral  character  of  secondary  importance — that  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  heart  demands  less  attention  than  that  of 
the  intellect — that  to  be  great  is  more  desirable  than 
te  be  good.  This  false  estimate  leads  to  consequences 
most  fatal.  It  often  defeats  the  very  object  at  wdiich 
the  young  aspirant  aims.  lie  sees  the  gay  and  flatter- 
ing world  before  him.  Its  pleasures,  and  honors,  and 
wealth  occupy  his  thoughts  and  present  to  his  ardent 
imagination,  the  most  brilliant  and  enchanting  prospects. 
The  cultivation  of  his  intellectual  powers,  and  the  ac- 
quisition of  knowledge  he  deems  incompatiljle  with  se- 
rious devoted  piety,  and  sometimes  with  strict  morali- 
ty. The  names  of  those  few  men  who  were  alike  dis- 
tinguished for  talent,  and  for  irregular  moral  habits  are 
familiar  to  his  mind,  and  he  vainly  imagines  that  the 
same  path  which  they  trod,  will  lead  him  to  distinction 
and  glor3\  But  how  often  is  the  fire  of  ambition  extin- 
guished in  the  cup  of  low  sensuality  and  talents,  which 
might  have  shone  with  no  common  lustre,  been  buried 
and  lost  before  their  possessor  reached  the  meridian  of 


life 


If  a  youth  of  ordinary  intellect,  who,  by  regular  in- 
dustry and  virtuous  habits,  might  have  been  respecta- 


24 

ble  and  useful,  be  so  unhappy  as  to  entertain  the  pre- 
posterous opinion,  that  literary  or  professional  eminence 
and  profligate  morals,  have  a  natural  connexion,  speedy 
and  inevitable  ruin,  will  be  the  consequence. 

When  his  understanding  is  clouded  and  his  vital  en- 
ergies palsied  by  the  cup  from  which  he  hoped  to  re- 
ceive inspiration,  he  usually  fails  in  his  first  efforts  in 
professional  and  public  life.  Disappointed,  chagrined, 
and  overwhelmed  with  shame,  he  seeks  to  forget  his 
sorrows,  by  the  same  means  which  produced  them.  And 
then  his  future  history  is  soon  told.     He  is  ruined. 

This,  we  venture  to  say,  is  one  great  cause  why 
so  many  j^oung  men  w^ho  have  passed  through  a  re- 
regular  course  of  preparatory^  study,  fail  in  profes- 
sional and  public  life.  Their  expectations  are  great- 
er than  their  industry.  They  hope  to  unite  two  things 
not  usually  compatible,  viz  :  the  pleasures  of  self-indul- 
gence and  the  rewards  of  professional  eminence.  My 
young  friends,  avoid  this  error.  Be  assured  the  natu- 
ral consequence  of  such  expectations  is  disappointment, 
despair,  and  the  total  abandonment  of  yourselves  to  the 
lowest  infamy.  Let  it  be  indelibly  impressed  on  your 
minds,  that  to  be  good  men,  pure  in  your  personal 
habits,  honest  in  your  intentions,  benevolent  in  your 
aims,  is  your  first  duty,  and  jour  highest  glory. 

I  am  aware  that  it  is  often  difficult  to  make  young 
men  feel  that  moral  worth  is  more  important  than  intellec- 
tual greatness.  Dazzled  by  the  exhibition  of  splendid 
talents,  of  bold  and  successful  achievements,  they  do  not 
observe  the  motives  nor  the  consequences  of  these  ex- 
ertions. All  men  love  excitement.  They  admire  the 
heaving  of  an  earthquake,  the  bursting  of  a  volcano, 
or  the  fury  of  a  tornado,  but  who  would  be  willing  to  be 
exposed    to   the  violence   of  these  convulsions  of  na- 


25 

tnre.  Such  is  intellectual  and  physical  greatness  un- 
connected with  moral  goodness, — an  ohject  to  be  dread- 
ed rather  than  desired. 

In  mere  intellectual  strength  there  is  nothing  calcu- 
lated to  secure  confidence — nothing  more  worthy  of 
moral  approbation,  than  there  is  in  the  muscles  of  an  ox, 
or  in  the  energy  of  the  electric  fluid.  The  value  of  intel- 
lectual power  depends  on  the  object  to  which  it  is  con- 
secrated. It  may  be  an  instrument  of  good  or  of  evil, 
of  life  or  of  death. 

Greatness  and  goodness  you  must  have  observed  are 
not  inseparably  united.  Men  of  high  intellectual  and 
physical  power  may  be  the  slaves  of  grovelling  and  de- 
basing appetites  and  passions,  or  they  may  be  actuated 
by  the  fury  and  malignity  of  demons.  A  man  may  be 
good  who  attracts  little  attention,  and  makes  no  noise  in 
the  world.  Whenever  one  of  these  characters  separate 
from  the  other  must  be  chosen,  no  young  man  should 
hesitate  a  moment  which  to  prefer. 

Vice  tarnishes  the  most  brilliant  talents.  How  mean 
and  j)itiable,  to  behold  the  conqueror  of  nations,  or 
the  statesman  whose  hands  have  held  the  sceptre  of 
empire,  subdued  and  vanquished  and  enchained  by 
his  own  low  and  debasing  passions  1  Yet  such  has 
been  the  fate  of  many  wdiose  exploits  have  amazed 
and  astonished  the  world.  Never  seek  greatness  for  its 
own  sake.  Cultivate  your  talents,  improve  your  oppor- 
tunities, with  a  view  to  a  nobler  end — the  diffusion  of 
happiness,  and  the  exercise  of  virtue  on  an  enlarged  scale. 
And  believe  me  that  the  consecration  of  your  talents, 
whether  great  or  small,  to  some  useful  and  honorable 
purpose,  is  the  only  thing  which  can  shed  a  pure  and  un- 
fading lustre  over  your  name  and  memory. 

An  immortal  soul  polluted,  debased  and  sensualized^ 

4 


26 

IS  the  most  vile  and  despicable  object  in  the  universe. 
Stripped  of  its  artificial  splendor,  rejected  by  God,  and 
excluded  from  the  society  of  the  pure  and  holy,  carry- 
ing within  itself  the  source  of  its  own  abhorrence,  it  must 
be  inconceivably  wretched.  Pagans  might  hope  to  purify 
themselves,  and  to  gain  a  seat  in  heaven  by  deeds  of 
valor :  but  the  pure  light  of  heaven  shows  a  different 
path.  '  Blessed  are  the  pure  in  heart,  for  they  shall  see 
God.'     '  Without  holiness  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord.' 

Eemember,  that  in  order  to  cleanse  your  way,  to  es- 
cape the  pollutions  of  the  world  and  to  attain  genuine 
purity  of  heart  and  life,  the  Bible  is  the  only  safe  and 
infallible  guide.  In  the  same  degree  that  you  depart 
from  this  standard,  you  will  become  corrupt  and  put  in 
jeopardy  your  present  and  eternal  interests.  The  Bible 
has  formed  a  part  of  your  course  of  study  in  this  insti- 
tution, and  I  am  persuaded  that  no  study  to  which  you 
have  attended  is  more  important.  Cast  not  away  your 
Bible  when  you  leave  this  place,  carry  it  with  you  wher- 
ever you  go,  and  whatever  be  your  occupation.  Consult 
it  daily,  and  make  its  precepts  the  rule  of  your  life,  its 
doctrines  the  standard  of  your  faith  and  the  foundation 
of  your  hopes. 

If  I  saw  a  mariner  in  the  midst  of  the  trackless 
ocean  casting  away  his  chart  and  his  compass,  and  com- 
mitting his  vessel  to  the  guidance  of  the  winds  and  the 
currents,  I  would  not  be  so  certain  of  his  destruction, 
as  I  would  be  of  yours,  if  I  saw  you  throwing  away 
your  Bible  and  attempting  to  direct  your  way  through 
life  regardless  of  its  admonitions  and  warnings.  Re- 
member also  there  is  nothing  even  in  the  Bible  which 
like  an  amulet  or  charm  can  protect  you  from  danger, 
by  merely  carrying  it  with  you,  and  giving  a  nominal 
assent  to  its  divine  origin.     It  must  be  read  and  believed 


27 

and  obeyed.  Dark  and  dreary,  and  hopeless  would 
be  the  prospect,  if  I  must  this  day  dismiss  you  without 
being  able  to  point  you  to  such  a  guide  and  to  commit 
you  to  the  protection  of  that  God  whose  word  I  recom- 
mend as  a  light  to  your  feet,  and  a  lamp  to  your  path. 
This  week  we  shall  separate  probably,  nay  certainly, 
never  all  to  meet  in  this  world,  and  to  unite  as  we  have 
often  done  in  offering  our  prayers  and  praises  to  the 
Most  High  God.  But  we  shall  all  meet  on  that "  great 
day  for  which  all  other  days  were  made."  And  God 
grant  that  when  our  earthly  course  is  run,  we  may 
meet  at  the  right  hand  of  our  final  Judge,  and  receive 
from  his  lips  that  most  joyful  of  all  plaudits,  "  Well 
done  good  and  faithful  servants,  enter  into  the  joy  of 
your  Lord."     God  bless  you. 


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